Struggling to Rest or Reject Calls: Delivery Riders and Piece-Rate Workers Protest 'Nominal Boss' Status

Recently, a court issued its first final ruling recognizing the status of an employee for a delivery rider. Taking into account the structure in which work is carried out through apps, the compensation system set by the company, and limited discretion in dispatch decisions, the court ruled that the rider, identified by the surname A, was subject to the company's command and supervision.
This ruling was a decision regarding a specific delivery agency case. However, riders in the delivery field working through apps voice similar burdens amid dispatches, unit prices, and mission structures. Jeon Sung-bae, a veteran full-time rider in his sixth year whom we met on a day when a scorching heatwave was raging, was moving while checking delivery locations and sequences on his app screen. He said that when he is mindful of point missions (additional compensation) amid extreme heat, he feels burdened even when trying to set break times. Cho Hee-min, a seventh-year rider, vented, "As unit prices [for deliveries] gradually get lower, we end up working for long hours." Cho added, "Although the basic delivery fee, which was once around 3,000 won, has dropped to the 2,000-won range, it is hard to fully understand how the delivery fee per case is determined," and noted, "Even if a call for a long-distance delivery comes in, it is hard to easily reject it out of concern for potential disadvantages that may follow if we decline."
  The situation for other piece-rate workers is not much different from that of delivery riders. Jung Nan-sook has been working as a learning material (tutor) instructor for 30 years. Although she visits an average of 15 households a day, her compensation is measured solely by the number of subjects she teaches (the number of cases). Jung says that the time spent on travel and waiting is not reflected in the calculation of her compensation. The time and costs invested in organizing teaching materials, training, and promotional activities after reporting to work are also entirely borne by individuals.
Can we establish minimum standards for those who are left outside the minimum wage baseline simply because they are paid based on the number of cases rather than the hours worked? A government research service report judged that minimum wage or minimum compensation can be applied to all six piece-rate occupations, including study material instructors and delivery riders. However, as the Minimum Wage Commission voted down the separate application for piece-rate workers, discussions on introducing the system have faced difficulties once again.

  Overseas, minimum compensation and protection standards for platform delivery workers are being established one after another. New York and Seattle in the United States have established minimum payment standards, and the European Union (EU) has adopted guidelines containing the presumption of employment relationships for platform workers. In particular, Australia decided to apply a minimum compensation standard of 31.30 Australian dollars per hour to platform delivery workers starting this month. This is around 30,000 Korean won, which is higher than the statutory minimum wage. Hyun Jin-seok, who works as a delivery rider in Australia, said, "It is a method where the time taken from accepting an order to completing delivery is calculated, and if the unit price per case falls short of the minimum compensation standard, the difference is filled." He conveyed a positive atmosphere, noting that a safety device has been created to protect the lower limit of earnings even when food preparation is delayed or traffic congestion occurs. What alternatives should our society prepare for platform workers?

This week's SBS <News Story> tracks the field of delivery riders working under algorithm dispatches and evaluation structures, and highlights the questions that the court's first final ruling recognizing employee status poses to our society and labor market.
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.